Do you plan to shop Thanksgiving Day?

This day should be reserved for family, friends, food and reflection. Watching some of my own family members sift through advertisements over dessert last year sort of made me cringe, but at least we were all together.

Now comes the news (reported in this Seattle Times story) that area big-box retailers are opening as early as 6 a.m. on Thursday. Yeah, I’m worried a few people I know (and I love them no matter what) will brave the cold after dinner in order to get in line and grab the best deal possible on the latest gadget or game console.

(Op Art by Paul Tong)

But here are three reasons everyone should stay at the table for pumpkin pie:

1. Eight in 10 Americans are stressed out at work, according to this April survey. Many employees are fighting just to keep benefits and to get paid sick leave. Treat this holiday for what it is: a hard-earned day off.

2. Avoid stampedes and the possibility of ending up in a public video trampling over someone else. Here’s Buzzfeed’s 2012 compilation of the worst behavior captured on tape in recent years. Just ugly. Not worth it.

3. It’s not like everyone’s doing it. According to this Deloitte survey, fewer people this year plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day compared to 2012. The Huffington Post’s Jillian Berman suggests a backlash is possible from consumers who are upset that retailers are trying to pressure them into shopping earlier to get better deals.

Do you plan to shop Thanksgiving Day? Why or why not?

Fill out our form below. Provide your contact information. (For verification purposes only. We won’t publish your address or phone number) I may round up the best responses for a follow-up post.